Makeup & nails

Your guide to the best mother-daughter spa date ever

Makeup & nails

Your guide to the best mother-daughter spa date ever

It’s Mother’s Day and the last thing you want to do is give your mom another cookbook or puppy figurine. And, let’s be honest, you deserve a treat too (struggle = real). Enter the mother-daughter spa date. We've rounded up some of our favourite spas across Canada here. But before you book, here are some expert tips to ensure your spa day is the best ever.

Slideshow

Your guide to the best mother-daughter spa date ever

Plan a joint activity

Even though you want (and deserve!) a solitary massage where the only sounds are your sighs of bliss and the bubbling-creek-and-pan-flute CD in the background, here’s the thing about Mother’s Day: your mom wants to hang with you. So book mani-pedis instead. READ MORE: Can you drink your way to glowing skin?

Image by: ELLE Canada
By: Carli Whitwell
Source: Getty

Your guide to the best mother-daughter spa date ever

Pick a treatment that your mom will actually benefit from

Your go-to chemical peel to reduce your acne scarring won't help your mom's skin. But if you don't know what will work for her, Emma Giono, a skin therapist from Tips Nail Bar in Toronto recommends MicroZone treatments, 20-minute, $30 facials customized to skin type. “They can be done side by side leaving time to chat and are quick, effective and non-invasive and won’t break the bank." READ MORE: An antiperspirant that's guaranteed to work when you and Drake finally meet

Image by: ELLE Canada
By: Carli Whitwell
Source: Getty

Your guide to the best mother-daughter spa date ever

Plan your tea date before your treatment

Reason 1: Everything is better on a full stomach of scones. Reason 2: If you’re prone to redness after facials, you probs won't want to sit in a café makeup-free. READ MORE: 8 nail looks from Toronto Fashion Week you can wear right now

Image by: ELLE Canada
By: Carli Whitwell
Source: Getty

Your guide to the best mother-daughter spa date ever

But don’t drink alcohol

“Refrain from drinking alcohol before your treatment as it can inhibit your senses and may not allow you to totally enjoy your experience," says Giono. READ MORE: 10 luxe toothpastes to inspire brushing

Image by: ELLE Canada
By: Carli Whitwell
Source: Getty

Your guide to the best mother-daughter spa date ever

Try something different

Like Float Toronto, in which you soak in salt-water-filled sensory deprivation tanks thought to cure stress and anxiety. READ MORE: 5 easy beauty indulgences for (exhausted) new moms

Image by: ELLE Canada
By: Carli Whitwell
Source: Float Toronto

Your guide to the best mother-daughter spa date ever

Don't forget to tip

A 15-20% gratuity is always appreciated – and will avoid any awkwardness at reception. READ MORE: 25 beauty memes we will never get enough of

Image by: ELLE Canada
By: Carli Whitwell
Source: Getty

Your guide to the best mother-daughter spa date ever

Stay within your budget

What would totally ruin Mother's Day? Why making your mom pay for her own present, of course. If it’s not in your budget to hit up the spa, grab a bottle of prosecco and Charlotte Tilbury Goddess Skin Clay Mask. Voila, home spa. Charlotte Tilbury Goddess Skin Clay Mask ($80), at holtrenfrew.com. READ MORE: 12 must-have drugstore beauty buys for your next beach vacation

Hair

Ronda Rousey has a major beauty contract

In the '80s, Pantene released a campaign with model Kelly LeBrock asking people, "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful." (See below for that commercial in all its glory.) Now, the hair brand has updated the phrase for 2016, partnering with mixed martial artist Ronda Rousey to tell women, "Don't hate me because I'm strong."

“I’m fully aware that I might not be the first person people think of to collaborate with a beauty brand," says Rousey. "I’ve been called ‘Miss Man’ and ‘savage’ because of my physique, but to me, strength isn’t only about having muscles. It’s about having heart and finding inner confidence, so I’m honored that Pantene asked me to be part of their new campaign that encourages women to break gender barriers, break the glass ceiling and never settle.”

Olivia Munn just made a major hair change

Hair

Olivia Munn just made a major hair change

Actress Olivia Munn debuted a major hair change for the premiere of her new film, Office Christmas Party. Hairstylist Christian Wood chopped off a casual 12-inches of hair before her red carpet appearance. See below for the entire processs:

Trends

Meet our January 2017 cover girl: Canadian model Crista Cober

Canadian model (and star of our January fashion story) Crista Cober has been working in the industry for 12 years, but she’s still wrapping her head around the public’s desire to know about her inner life. “I’m a professional model, so I think, wait, ‘you also want to know about me?” explains the Wellesley, Ont. native over the phone, having just returned from a lookbook shot in Milan.

Lucky for us, Toronto-based Cober offers a glimpse at her day-to-day on her largely unfiltered, just-as-I-am Instagram feed, where the model’s nine-month old daughter Lou makes the odd (adorable) appearance. Over the course of our chat, Cober opened up about motherhood, rebellion and yes, modelling.

Tell me about your day shooting for the cover of ELLE Canada's January issue.

“It was the quintessential Canadian vibe—a true collaboration. The location [Crown Flora Studio] was beautiful; it was like breathing in the tropics. I shot with [the photographer] Max Abadian 12 years ago. It was my very first shoot. So that was a very special moment. And I got to have my daughter on set.”

“Yes. I’m less inclined to say yes to some amazing projects. It’s much harder; I used to go from one job to the next, to the next. And now I have to be a lot more selective.”

Other than your schedule, what factors make you say yes?

“The people. I value my time, and to be away from someone I think is the greatest person on the planet, I want to make sure that I’m working with the right people. After 12 years, I have a better judge of things,”

How else have you evolved as a model in 12 years?

“I feel like I can collaborate a bit more with the people running the ship. I can be a bit more involved. I think now there’s a bit more of an interest in who I am as a person, rather than just what I look like. I’m not sure I like that yet.”

So how do you feel about that? It sounds like it plays into today’s phenomenon of the Insta-model.

“I’m in my 30s now, so I feel like I kind of skipped it. I like to use Instagram to post the pictures of what I want to show, as opposed to letting it have anything to do with work. Once I did a fragrance shoot, I understood that ‘now you’re the face!’ There was a lot of PR, a lot of hype. I had a moment of feeling like I wanted to keep my business and my life separate.

Would you say you’re shy?

“I had an amazing agent when I started in Toronto. I learned that this is a business and you’re self-employed. At the end of the day, you run you. There are a lot of beautiful faces out there, but there are less kind people. I approached going into my agency as my biggest casting. I wouldn’t say I’m shy, but I’m professional.”

Do you feel like this isn’t what you singed up for when you started?

“I was lucky to be able to stop modelling and come back. When I first started skateboarding, everyone thought that was really cool and wanted to incorporate it [into shoots]. And I was like, ‘this is just my mode of transportation because my bike got stolen! ‘I’m not a skater!”

Do you still skateboard?

“Yeah. Everywhere.”

What’s your advice to young models?

“Just love yourself so much for you! The business is always changing; something that doesn’t fit one day will fit another day.”

How did you start modelling?

“I was scouted by an incredible model scout, Anthony Gordon. He was an amazing ballet dancer and he had an eye for faces. He wasn’t a scout at the time, but we went to the same high school, 10 years apart. He found my picture in a yearbook. 5 days later he bumped into me at a shopping mall and when I told him my name, he said, ‘you will not believe this!’ and told me the story and took me to Elmer Olsen. Then I did my first editorial and that was the start."

Was there a point when you thought to yourself “wow, I’m a model. This is my career now.”

“No, I think that took a couple of years. I remember [the agency] showing me Daria on the cover of Vogue and explaining that that was my potential, then I went straight to New York, and from there to Paris.”

What made you stop modelling for a while?

“I came from an athletic background and I was a swimmer. The agency in Paris sent me back immediately because they said I was too big. I came back to Canada, and I thought, ‘this is my body.’ It was the size of my hands and my wrists [that they talked about].”

How did it feel to hear that?

“It made me stronger, more rebellious. But it gave me the opportunity to stop, and start again. When I was 21 I stopped for four months and I went to South America.”

Do you have any hopes or goals for your career?

“An amazing beauty contract or something that sets up 6o days of the year. Before I didn’t want to know what was coming up the next month. Now I love the idea of having more of a set schedule.”

So what does life look like right now?

“For now, I’m just enjoying. My daughter travels so well, and my husband works from home. So on the days we have nothing, we’re just exploring Toronto.”

Sofia Richie doesn't care that you think she's short

Celebrity

Sofia Richie doesn't care that you think she's short

In a new interview with Complex, Sofia Richie, daughter of music icon Lionel Richie, opens up about the challenges she has faced while working in the modelling industry. The 5-foot-6 model says she's often criticized because of her petite stature. "People obviously don’t respect some of the shoots I do because I’m short," she explained.

However the 18-year-old model she promises she doesn't let criticism faze her. "It’s not like I called and begged these designers to work with me," she says. "They felt my vibe and we were cool and that’s that. I really don’t let that stuff get to me."

Other highlights of the interview? Richie did not want to talk about Justin Bieber. Richie's publicist made it clear that "no questions" could be asked about the former fling. Sad face.

While the status of Sofia and Justin's romance remains unclear, one thing is certain. Right now Sofia is focusing on her career. "I'm super interested in having a fashion line which I am kind of working on, but I really love modelling because I get to be involved with clothes and designers. I get to hear them out and see what they're interested in. I'm kind of taking notes in the corner."